Last week was Thanksgiving, and one of the things I was most thankful for is my family. You see, I have three amazing kiddos who range in age from 1 year old to 5 years old. Our family has had a child wearing diapers for a solid 5 years.

I did a bit of math, and we’ve gone through at least 13,000 diapers. Just in our family.

So what am I thankful for? I’m thankful that I’ve never had to worry about whether I could afford the next diaper my child needed. I’m thankful that I’ve never had to question whether the diaper was “wet enough” or “dirty enough” to need changing.

But way too many parents in our community are struggling with those very questions every, single day.

We can do something about this. We have to do something about this.

So in the midst of your holiday shopping this year, considering picking up a box of diapers or hosting a diaper drive to help make the holidays just a little bit brighter for families in need.

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I have a confession to make. I think I’m raising food snobs. It’s not that my kids are picky per se, it’s more that they’re particular.

We probably should have realized this a long time ago. I mean, Lynn and Gibby have always liked shrimp poppers better than chicken nuggets. Lynn liked pesto before spaghetti sauce. And we make real hot chocolate (the kind you make on the stove) on a regular basis.

So I shouldn’t be surprised that our bright little girl has picked up on the fact that there are certain foods I always get the “good” kind. Apparently, graham crackers is one of those foods.

The other day, her teacher told me that they had graham crackers for snack. Lulu very politely told her that she only likes “the honey kind” and that “these ones taste like cardboard.”

Oops.

Well, actually, I can’t really blame her. Generic graham crackers do kind of taste like card board. But the honey maid brand are good. (And no, I promise this isn’t an ad for honey maid.)

So in honor of Lynnie’s desire for the honey kind, we had a special snack after lunch today.

I’ve sung some version of this song with each of my children as babies, and it’s a little bit sad to think that this might be the last time I’ll hold a tiny one in my arms and hush his tears with this song.

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I was catching up with a friend this morning, and she framed up my life perfectly. She said, “These are your busy years.” And she’s right.

These are the years of having three children under the age of five. Of carrying the baby in his car seat and the three-year-old on my hip. Of middle of the night accidents, and frantic shoe searches each morning. Of “please put your coat on for the umpteenth time” and it takes us 30 minutes longer that I’d like to get out the door.

But these are also the years of “snuggle me a little longer, Mama.” More

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You know all of those posts about Why My Toddler is Screaming? There’s even an entire blog devoted to it. We’ve all read them. And we’ve probably all laughed (or cringed) because we’ve been in the same boat as the parents taking those pictures.

But you know what? There’s an equal number of reasons that my preschoolers have been smiling lately. Here are just the first 10 that come to mind:

1. Tickle fights. This one is a little bit obvious, but there is nothing that gets my kids laughing like being tickled. Except maybe getting to tickle mommy.

2. Doing something new by themselves. Both of my older kids are fairly independent (shocking, I know), so learning a new skill tends to lead to excited exclamations like “I did it!” accompanied by a big grin.

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If you read this blog a long time ago, you know that I really wanted my daughter to have curly hair like mine. Lynnie’s hair is beautiful, but it’s pretty straight. Her brother, however, has super curly hair. I love his hair. Like, I really love his hair. But it definitely needed to be tamed.

Last summer we took both kids to get their hair cut for the first time together. Yeah… I waited until Lynn was already 3 before getting her hair cut, and we haven’t touched it since. She does so well sitting still for me to brush it, and her daddy and I both really love her hair long. But I digress.

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Apparently my daughter shares my love of new shoes. Like all good moms, I waited until after the first major ::ahem:: snowfall of the year to buy new snow boots. My poor baby had some very cold feet when I picked up her from daycare earlier this week because her tennies got soaked when we had about two inches of snow. Since then, she has informed me each day that she needs new snow boots.

So today I swung by the store after work on my way to pick the kiddos up from daycare and purchased a pair of pretty fabulous pink snow boots. I spent a little more than I wanted to, but they have a nice thick black sole/toe along with a warm fuzzy inside, and they’re pink. So really, what choice did I have but to get them for her?

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The K family has had a busy fall, and it’s not over yet. In the past 3 months, we have completed not one, not two, but five car trips with the kiddos. Yep, you read that right. We’ve gone on 5 car trips since August, and we’re not through yet. With all of that driving, I have found myself being very grateful for three things:

1. My husband does all of the driving.

I have an admission to make. I fall asleep if I drive long distances. When my sister got married, her in-laws threw her a shower about 3 hours away from the Cities. I had to stop at a gas station on my way home to buy a cold caffeinated drink in order to get home semi-safely. So I’m very happy to say that my husband is amazing and does all of the driving on long car trips. Also, Kevin driving lets me climb between into the back seat if any crying does start.

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Ever since Lynnie was learning to speak, we’ve played two word games. The first is pretty common. I ask the kids how big they are, and they put their hands up and say “so big!” But my favorite question to ask is “how much does Mommy love you?” and we both stretch our arms out and say “so much!”

Gibby discovered that it makes me laugh if he says “happy” instead, so that’s always his response now. But you know what, I love it! He is such a happy little man that the reply is perfect for him.